eating to fuel your body (very long)

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  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
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    Well said. Now if only those who NEED to read it will actually read it... :laugh:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    Thanks for taking the time out to write this up and post it! I for one very much appreciate what you do for this site and am very grateful you choose to share your knowledge on here Banks!:drinker:

    Some excellent info in this thread!!
    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    amen!

    I am guilty of not eating all of my exercise calories. Usually I get 1650 with exercise and eat 1400-1500.... thoughts?
    Here's a great thread to check out! :wink: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/108362-eating-to-fuel-your-body-very-long?page=1#posts-1494332 Taking time to read the ENTIRE post will give you just what you're looking for:drinker:
  • mooz
    mooz Posts: 101
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    Great post. Should be a sticky IMO.

    And thanks for putting in that info about those of us who are in the obese category [or in my case super morbidly obese].
  • Mande_G
    Mande_G Posts: 599 Member
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    <snip>
    If you're obese, or morbidly obese, generally you can get away with not eating all (and in some cases eating none) of your exercise calories. This is simply because the body doesn't care where it's calories come from, sure it will try to use food eaten first, but if there isn't enough,it has no problem taking it's calories from fat and even protein that we have already within our body (body fat and muscle). So the more fat our bodies have, the more surface area of fat we have, and this means we have more available fuel. so if someone's talking about eating your exercise calories, and you know that you have lots and lots of extra fat hanging around (no pun intended) then you can usually safely ignore this statement (by saying something like: "I understand the concept, and will implement it when it becomes necessary, but for now I'll just keep burning extra body fat").

    With that said, I'll dig a tiny bit deeper into why we say eat your exercise calories.

    So even if you have a decent amount of body fat (say a BF% of around 30 to 40%) that doesn't mean your body can get at all of it right away.
    <snips>

    Banks,

    So, what's the best way to transition to eating all of your exercise calories for someone who started out in the obese/over 40% body fat range? Would I still need to gradually increase to maintenance, hold there for 3-4 weeks, then resume a reasonable deficit including eating back all exercise calories? Or can I just gradually increase to eating back all of the exercise cals without going up to maintenance first?

    My info.: I'm female, 30 years old, 5'2", medium frame, started out at 205 lbs and somewhere around 40-45 % body fat (according to the body fat scale at my gym -- I am aware that this is not the most accurate assessment of body fat %). I joined MFP in December of 2009, changed my eating habits (more fruits, veges, whole grains, lean dairy, at about 1400 cals per day) and exercised about 20 minutes per day, eating back none to 1/2 my exercise calories. Got an HRM in February, started exercising longer (30-45 minutes) and was eating back about 1/2 my exercise cals. My diary is publicly viewable.

    Currently I'm 170 -- down almost 40 lbs from where I started. My base calories according to MFP are 1290, I exercise 60-90 minutes a day, 7 days a week with 3 days devoted to strength, 6 days of moderate to moderate-high intensity cardio (heart rate at about 85% of max) and one "rest" day where I do an hour of yoga. I eat back 1/2 of my exercise calories and lose about a lb per week or less (I got off track through May and June, didn't gain, but didn't really lose, and I'm struggling to get back ON track. I've lost 1 lb per week for the last 2 weeks, so things seem to be normalizing). I do not know my current body fat %. If I go by BMI, I'm still in the "obese" category, but I'm getting closer to crossing the line into "overweight".

    My current goal is to get down to 125-135, then reassess my situation once I'm there.

    Am I on the right track, or do I have adjustments to make?
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Banks,

    So, what's the best way to transition to eating all of your exercise calories for someone who started out in the obese/over 40% body fat range? Would I still need to gradually increase to maintenance, hold there for 3-4 weeks, then resume a reasonable deficit including eating back all exercise calories? Or can I just gradually increase to eating back all of the exercise cals without going up to maintenance first?

    My info.: I'm female, 30 years old, 5'2", medium frame, started out at 205 lbs and somewhere around 40-45 % body fat (according to the body fat scale at my gym -- I am aware that this is not the most accurate assessment of body fat %). I joined MFP in December of 2009, changed my eating habits (more fruits, veges, whole grains, lean dairy, at about 1400 cals per day) and exercised about 20 minutes per day, eating back none to 1/2 my exercise calories. Got an HRM in February, started exercising longer (30-45 minutes) and was eating back about 1/2 my exercise cals. My diary is publicly viewable.

    Currently I'm 170 -- down almost 40 lbs from where I started. My base calories according to MFP are 1290, I exercise 60-90 minutes a day, 7 days a week with 3 days devoted to strength, 6 days of moderate to moderate-high intensity cardio (heart rate at about 85% of max) and one "rest" day where I do an hour of yoga. I eat back 1/2 of my exercise calories and lose about a lb per week or less (I got off track through May and June, didn't gain, but didn't really lose, and I'm struggling to get back ON track. I've lost 1 lb per week for the last 2 weeks, so things seem to be normalizing). I do not know my current body fat %. If I go by BMI, I'm still in the "obese" category, but I'm getting closer to crossing the line into "overweight".

    My current goal is to get down to 125-135, then reassess my situation once I'm there.

    Am I on the right track, or do I have adjustments to make?

    so, from what it looks like, you're kind of in a gray area. I don't know what your deficit is at (although I assume it's 2 lbs a week) you're probably right on the edge of needing to go down a little.

    It's hard to tell whether you're in what most people would call "starvation mode" because you're losing at a decent clip, although not spectacular for your situation. I guess, what I would do is what you said, a little tweaking and checking. So I'd probably bump up your calories by maybe 100 or 150 and give that 3 solid weeks while maintaining all your other activities. Either that or just eat back more of your exercise calories. If that doesn't do you right, I'd try the other direction (not all at once, I'd put a middle zone for a week or two where you lower your calories about 1/2 way, then go down another 100 to 150) and see if that helps. For some of us it's just a game of tweak this, tweak that. Unfortunately, since you ARE losing it's not so easy to figure out how to speed up the process. Well, I guess that's not the right way to put it, it's not really difficult to fathom, it's just a long process. I know for me, once i dropped out of the obese range, I had to experiment for almost 2 full months where I didn't lose hardly any weight before I found the right calories and exercises to continue.

    PM me if you have more detailed questions.

    congrats on the 40 lbs by the way. good job!

    -Banks
  • LainMac
    LainMac Posts: 412 Member
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    Bump the jam, bump get the parhty started.

    Now if I could get one of my 750 calorie a day buddies to read this.

    Good work.
  • cpendergrass
    cpendergrass Posts: 7 Member
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    thanks for sharing that info--very helpful and resourceful!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Bump the jam, bump get the parhty started.

    Now if I could get one of my 750 calorie a day buddies to read this.

    Good work.

    oh I'll bet they read it, denial AIN'T just a river in Egypt you know! :tongue:
  • AnnieeR
    AnnieeR Posts: 229
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    Bump. That was SO interesting - and much needed!! Thank you!
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
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    Bump the jam, bump get the parhty started.

    Now if I could get one of my 750 calorie a day buddies to read this.

    Good work.

    oh I'll bet they read it, denial AIN'T just a river in Egypt you know! :tongue:

    750? :sad:
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    750? Sound like breakfast.
  • sandy429
    sandy429 Posts: 2,779 Member
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    Food = Fuel

    Oh Jess, if we had a nickel . . .

    Banks: Excellent post!! Thank you!!
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    Thank goodness, Banks. I keep trying to figure out why people think there is such a huge difference between the calories they burn in daily activity and the calories they burn working out. I mean, if you have to eat one, you have to eat the other. Why even eat your BMR? Why eat any of them if our bodies don't need it?! Good grief! :noway:

    Thank goodness for your posts of rational, polite, scientific explanations.
  • kspeach
    kspeach Posts: 179 Member
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    750? Sound like breakfast.

    LOL! You must love breakfast as much as I do! :)

    And LOOOOOVE this thread.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
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    Thank you for this! Especially the part about weight gain when increasing calories after starving yourself for a while. I lost a lot of my weight through not good ways like drastic calorie cutting. I'm on week two of trying to eat right and work out to get to a healthier place, and to lose the remaining few lbs. I have been a bit discouraged because I've actually gained 1lb. I expected it, but it's nice to hear it from a professional.
  • sherry_80
    sherry_80 Posts: 86 Member
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    bump
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    Bump!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Thanks for all the kind words guys. It's a pleasure doing this stuff for you folks.
  • abricklin
    abricklin Posts: 156 Member
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    amen!

    I am guilty of not eating all of my exercise calories. Usually I get 1650 with exercise and eat 1400-1500.... thoughts?
    Here's a great thread to check out! :wink: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/108362-eating-to-fuel-your-body-very-long?page=1#posts-1494332 Taking time to read the ENTIRE post will give you just what you're looking for:drinker:

    I read it ....

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